Improved bttbkle



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WILLIAM K. TIIORNTON, OF CLINTON, WISCONSIN. I 'raars Patent No. 89,836, dated May 4,1869.

IMPRovED Bubxnn.

Y The Schedule referred to in these 'Letters Patent and making part of the same,

To all whomfitmaa/ comarca4 a u I Beit known thatI, WILLIAM M. K. THORNTON,

I of Clinton, inthe county Iof Rock, and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Buckles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to vthe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- I I Figure 1 isa perspective view of the improved buckle, having a trace andring-strap applied to it, and having its stud or tongue in the middle of its length.v

Figure 2 is a front view of the improved buckle.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section, taken centrally through the buckle. i i

Figures 4, 5L and 6, are views of my improved buckle, constructed with the stud or, tongue on one of its end-bars. I I

Similarvlettersof reference indicate corresponding parts inthe several gures. I This invention relates to certain novel improvements on the buckle for which 'Letters Patent ofthe -United- States were granted to me, on the 3d day of September, `1867, the object of which improvements isto facilitate the manufacture of the buckles, 'and not only render them stronger and lighter, but give to them a handsomer appearance than hitherto, 'without departing from the general features vand advantages described in the schedule annexed to said Letters Patent.

The patented ,buckle above `referred to has its sideloops and intermediate crossebar arranged at or near the middle `of the width of flat side-bars, which arrangement requires great carein casting, toobviate flaws, and also requires the nishing to b e done with hand-files'. f I i I ,I-To obviate these and other objections attending such arrangement of loops and cross-bar, `the nature of my invention consists in constructing and arranging the side-loops in such manner that their front or exposed faces are in the plane of the front or exposed edges of the side and'end-pieces of the buckle, and in constructing the said side-pieces'with iiangesl upon their outer.

sides, forstrengtheningthem, and, at the same time,

presenting a large surface for ornamentation, and hiding from view those surfaces which it is not .desired to polish; also, in arranging the intermediate tug-bar as Inear as possible to the back edges ofthesidefbars, for the purpose of producing this bar without aws at the junctions with its side-bars, all as will be hereinafter explained., L I I 'Ioenable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operation. A I

The buckle which I have represented in the drawings consists of two parallel'side-bars, c c, united at `their extremities by flat cross-bars, b` b, upon one of which a loop or eye, A, is formed'.

'I At an intermediate pointV between the cross-barst b, and extending transversely'across from one of these bars to the other, is a cylindrical bar, d, to which theV hamesor tug-strap is attached, and from which extends a tongue or stud, e, for entering one of many holes made through the trace, and forming the attachment for the same.

Instead of having the tongue or stud e formed on .the bar d, it may be formed on the inner side of ,one of the ilat crossfbars b, as' shown in igs.' 4 and 5.

The bars c c. also have side-loops fj, formed on their outer sides, as sho'wn in the drawings,

Thus it will be seen that, inseveral respects, the

buckles shown inv the drawings represent the buckle which was secured to me by Letters Patent in the year 1867, above referred to.

The dii'erences are these:

First, I arrange the oblong side-loops ff so that their outer surfaces are in the plane 'of 'or ilush with the corresponding Louter surfaces, a, ofthe side-bars c c and cross-bars b b, thus making the outer surface of the buckle present a'smooth or unbroken surface, except loop A, which is slightly turned outward.

rIhus it willbe seen that the surface or'surfaces a,

which are exposed to view when the 'buckle has applied to it its straps, can be conveniently dressed and polished, or plated,owing, as above stated, to the'unbroken surfaces thus presented.

It will be seen, by reference to the two gs. 3 and 6,v

that the surfaces a are curved or made convex, both in a direction with the length and width of the buckle.

The sideebars c c are strengthened by forming flanges,

i i, alongtheir sides, externally, which not only increase the thickness of these bars in the plane of the surfaces a," and present a very neat appearance, but they give the bars, in cross-section, the shape of the letter L, which adds great strength to them, and prevents the buckles from warping while being annealed.

From the flanges 'i fi, the bars are tapered inward, and their inner edges are very acute. Thusv I dispose the metal so as tovobtain the greatest strength where most needed, and produce a very light buckle, which not'only presents the. external appearance of great strength, but which is really stronger than buckles of Y a corresponding size which Ihave hitherto produced.

The inner sides of the bars'c'c, against which the tug-strap and trace abut, are flatand parallel to each other, and perpendicular, or nearly so, to the inner surfaces of thel dat cross-bars b b.

The round tug-bar d,-which, in my patented buckle above referred to, is at, or nearly at the middle of the width of the thin side-bars, is, in this improved buckle,

arranged asV near the inner edge of the swelled p0r-l tions of the bars c c, for two reasons, viz, that there shall not be any more metal in these bars than is absolutely necessary to obtain the requisite degree of I strength and widthpi` side-bars, and also that this bar` d may be cast with the' buckle without having flaws or weak points at its junctions with its side-bars.'

In casting the old forniof buckles above referred to, the moulding-sand in the sectional flask parts in a` plane with the tug-bars; consequently it is almost impossible to make perfectly solid castings in all parts, and, Where the greatest strength is required in the old buckles, they are frequently found to be Weakest.

It will .be seen, from the above description, that my improved buckle can be conveniently dressedl or nished by the use of emery-Wheels, or other polishing and grinding-surfaces, and that very little labor is re` vquired to finish them, either by grinding, plating, or

otherwise, as only the surfaces e are exposed to view when the buckles are in use, the enges 'i t' serving to hide from view those parts which may not be nished.

Having described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An improved article of menufaeture, consisting of a. buckle, having its side-bars c c flanged, and its sideloops ffarranged so that their outer surfaces a are flush with the corresponding surface a of said bars and their cross-bars b b, as herein set forth.

WM. M. K. THORNTON.

Witnesses:

PHINEAS CROSBY, THos. M. MARTIN. 

